Best Cusack film of all.

Amen.

___
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEkmoawOih0

Best film he was in is probably stand by me, but it gets disqualified because its a small part.

Favourite film of his? Torn between:

The Sure Thing
Grosse Point Blank
High Fidelity
Being John Malkovich.

Each is good for different reasons. The fact that he could pull off Walter Gibson at 17 probably gives it the edge

1. Say Anything
2. Grosse Pointe Blank
3. Better Off Dead
4. The Sure Thing

Yea I tend to prefer this one over the others but I LOVED One Crazy Summer, Better Off Dead and Say Anything... as well.

Is Cusack a truly great actor, though? Or is he and/or the casting directors just really smart about role choices? I like a lot of Cusack's films, but I kind of think he's basically just playing himself in most of them, and let's face it, the vast majority of the roles he either takes or gets are the same. You've got the classic underdog boyish charm types that he is in Better Off Dead, Say Anything and most of the 80's teen films he's in, then there are all those romantic comedies where he's essentially the same boyish type only with more adult issues and grumpiness or whatnot, then there are those (largely great) dark comedies/dramadies like Grosse Point Blank, The Grifters, and the very overlooked "The Ice Harvest", which personally I think may be his best performance. Maybe I'm just not giving him enough credit for his true adult roles like in Being John Malkovich or some of the newer films he's been in. Although I will say that his role in High Fidelity is him. There's not a ton of acting in that role. Cusack is very much Rob Gordon in real life.

Or maybe it's just the 80's and 90's films I like so much that they cloud his more recent work. I did think his role in The Thin Red Line was really good and he was very good in it, but it was a small part, and I just don't know if he's capable of being a true lead actor in a role like that in a non-quirky, non-underdog type role. Or maybe it's just that he doesn't get enough of those lead roles in major productions so it's tough to gauge him on it.

I don't know if this is Cusack's greatest film, when he has Grosse Point Blank, High Fidelity, Say Anything, The Grifters and Being John Malkovich on his C.V. But The Sure Thing is definitely up there as one of his best films, I'd put this ahead of any John Hughes teen classics from the 80's. A wonderful romantic comedy, with probably my favorite Cusack performance and how loveable is Daphne Zuniga, she remind's me a bit of a 80's version of Emma Stone.

Isn't it great that both characters despite hiding behind two facades, Walter trying to be a cool jerk and Alison the Ice queen A grade student and teachers pet, that really both are kind of dorky sensitive souls. Aside from the wonderful script, and great direction from Rob Reiner (who had a better 80's and early 90's then him) and also great supporting acting from Tim Robbins and Anthony Edwards This film really is on the shoulders of Cusack and Zuniga, and thank god they had amazing chemistry together.

The first half of the film with clash of personalities is perfect, and you gradually see that these two actually have a lot in common and as you see both with little glances and gestures falling for one another. My favorite moment is when they are in the truck, and when Walter is talking about his "Sure Thing" (even though you see him look back at Alison and you can see the doubt he has about his "sure thing" as he's fallen for Alison), you see Alison heart break. I think Cusack is great in this, but this is Zuniga's film as you see her Ice queen facade melt away and what you see is a nice warm hearted person. Sure Alison has a boyfriend but you can tell from their scenes together that it's a pretty loveless and passionless relationship from Alison side of things. The last scene in the classroom when Walter's story is read out, if you haven't got a smile beaming from you're face then you got no heart.

Wonderful film.

No one mentions, "Hot Pursuit!" LOL!!